I saw something on the national news the other day featuring a Texas Cattle Rancher who had been born into raising cattle but now raises Boer Goats, and he claims he makes more money. Ive heard that you can make more money raising goats.
Goats
- Thread starter CopeMan
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certherfbeef
Well-known member
Boar goats is a hopping thing here. Lots of money to be made. But the little sh!ts take more time that a cow. Boar goat meat isn't all that bad either :shock:
OP
OP
CopeMan
Well-known member
I wonder what all you need to get into raising those things? Are people raising them for slaughter or for breeding (seedstock)? What are they goat/acre ratio? HOw many billies per nannie/ Why do they take longer?
certherfbeef
Well-known member
CopeMan":2yfe0sn7 said:
OK Cope, if you are serious, here is the web site to the American Boar Boat Assoc. http://www.abga.org/
The only reason I know any of this is because I take pictures for the Ohio Boar Goat association. I don't particulary like goats unless they are itty bitty.
And for the record...I would rather fight ring worm on my show cattle than have a billy.
TheBullLady
Well-known member
Cope.. I've seen quite a few folks go from cattle to goats here in central Texas. The number one reason seems to be they are easier to handle then cows!
Our neighbors down the road (now in their 60's) gave up the cattle when his wife broke her back and got a concussion trying to load a cow off a lease place. They didn't want to give up the farm, and with the goats he could handle them himself.
There's a very good market for meat goats here as well, primarily because of the large Hispanic population.
The only downside I see would be fences and predators.
Our neighbors down the road (now in their 60's) gave up the cattle when his wife broke her back and got a concussion trying to load a cow off a lease place. They didn't want to give up the farm, and with the goats he could handle them himself.
There's a very good market for meat goats here as well, primarily because of the large Hispanic population.
The only downside I see would be fences and predators.
mwj
Well-known member
I watched old stinkin brush goat bucks bring $110-20 per head at the local sale :shock: Goats are not as tough as you would think, they can not take cold and wet ,parasites will kill them if not controlled. Hoof care is an on going prob. unless they run on rocky ground. The mkt. is mainly from muslim and hispanic people which would be the majority of the worlds population. For the muslim mkt., which is the one I am familiar with,forget everything you learned raising cattle. They prefer males that are thin nonaltered ,nuts and horns are a must, and not solid white. These things are religion based and they will pay a premium. This could be a good niche mkt. for people from drier areas with a lot of browse instead of grass. If you try it go slow and small just like any thing else.
your friend
Mike
your friend
Mike
Medic24
Well-known member
And get used to the different smells. Many of which stay with you always. Billy goat in season is not a smell I enjoy.
Medic24":3houhp9f said:
I kind of like buck smell! I guess it's an acquired taste (for the smell).
We don;t have a big muslim or hispanic community in MO but there are several large goat buying stations. One gent up north about 25 miles co-mingles them and sells 2-5k twice a year.
He uses multiple strand hotwire with alternating hot and ground wires. The bottom two wires are only about a foot and 18" above the ground and doesn;t have a coyote/dog problem. They slink around the woods outside of the goat pens but they don;t get in with the goats. His normal herd (not the co-mingle) runs around 250 head of breeding does.
dun
WVcowpatty:)
Member
We have goats along with our cattle.
We purchased our farm 3 years ago and just moved the cows from another property to the farm last year. This property is rather hilly and has a lot of areas that are grown up pretty bad - weeds, briar bushes, multi-floral roses, etc. We have a total of 5 goats at the present time. They are sure different from cattle!!
As far as keeping them on the farm, we have 5 strand high tensil electric fencing, and so far, haven't had any of them try to escape, after hitting the electric fence a time or two at the beginning.
They have made a big difference with the weeds. They primarily eat vegetation that the cows are NOT interested in. They come running when called, and other than having a small building and penned in yard area for them to get into (10 x 8 building), they are really not a problem to have. We do have them in the penned yard right now, while we're feeding round bales, because we don't want them in the hayrings making a mess.
This fall, I hope to breed the 2 doelings and have some kids next year. I think it will possibly become another way to make a little income on the farm, along with our cattle. There has been a lot of talk about goats making more than cows for the $$ you have tied up in them - I don't know about that, but they are a lot of fun!!
I'd be interested to know if there are others who run goats with their cows and any problems they may be aware of that we need to watch for.
We purchased our farm 3 years ago and just moved the cows from another property to the farm last year. This property is rather hilly and has a lot of areas that are grown up pretty bad - weeds, briar bushes, multi-floral roses, etc. We have a total of 5 goats at the present time. They are sure different from cattle!!
As far as keeping them on the farm, we have 5 strand high tensil electric fencing, and so far, haven't had any of them try to escape, after hitting the electric fence a time or two at the beginning.
They have made a big difference with the weeds. They primarily eat vegetation that the cows are NOT interested in. They come running when called, and other than having a small building and penned in yard area for them to get into (10 x 8 building), they are really not a problem to have. We do have them in the penned yard right now, while we're feeding round bales, because we don't want them in the hayrings making a mess.
This fall, I hope to breed the 2 doelings and have some kids next year. I think it will possibly become another way to make a little income on the farm, along with our cattle. There has been a lot of talk about goats making more than cows for the $$ you have tied up in them - I don't know about that, but they are a lot of fun!!
I'd be interested to know if there are others who run goats with their cows and any problems they may be aware of that we need to watch for.
shorty
Well-known member
My feed salesman had a 50 cow angus herd , he got rid of half of them and put meat goats in their place . I don,t know how many he has but he says he's making more with the goats than with the cows.
TheBullLady":2oqh95jf said:
Same here.
The elderly neighbor sold 3/4 of his large beef herd and got into Boers ( mostly mixes ) recently. He re-fenced one of his larger pastures to goat proof it and brings the goats into a converted dairy barn at night to frustrate the coyotes. He has a very nifty set up In the barn so the goat kids can scoot out of the stalls and into the alleyway to creep feed. His whole set up is low maintenance. He uses the portable plastic electric fencing to put the goats in one area to browse down the nasty puckerbushes too. His fields look better than they ever did with the cows--and how I miss seeing his 200+ Simmentals out there~!!
He told me he gets $4.50-$5.00 per pound for the goats and sometimes much more. They eat less, have almost no birthing problems, raise twins and triplets easily, come QUICKLY when called and have increased his maple sirrup sales substancially because people ALL stop in the spring to see all the baby goats frollicing around on his front field.
Other benefits--according to Carl:
When they kick you, you dont break a leg, you can fit 10 of them in the back of a simple pickup truck with a cap, they are easier to pick up and carry into the barn, they don't tear down fences, they don't tear down sugar tubing in the woods and they will eat lots of things cows won't even look at. Plus he no longer pays someone to truck his sale animals off the farm--he can deliver them in his truck or folks will come pick up 6 at a time. A BIG savings $$$.
Here is one of his goat groups ( the moms ) :
He has an old doberman that "babysits" his flocks.
However, with the increase of more and BIGGER coyotes in this area, Livestock Guardian Dogs are becoming more common up here and I wouldn't be surprised if one shows up at this particular farm soon. Maremmas seem to be the breed mostly used in this area for valuable sheep & goats.
For those that are seriously interested in these kind of working dogs, there is a new book:
LIVESTOCK PROTECTION DOGS
Selection Care & Training
second edition
Dawydiak & Sims
Because of the success of this meat goat farmer, he has many of us beef farmers considering raising a few dozen goats.
TheBullLady
Well-known member
Awwww.. plus they're so darned CUTE!
frenchie
Well-known member
Is he using poliwire electric nets or just plain poli wire.
We have a Maremma worth every penny we payed.
Frenchie--Yes, he uses the poly net. Fast & easy to move. Uses a solar fence zapper.
May I ask what you paid for your Maremma ?
and what made you chose that particular breed ?
Don't suppose you could show us a photo of your dog in action....
Does he/she guard your cattle only ?
There is an advertisement in the local paper today--$400 for pups.
A friend of mine uses a Maremma mix to guard her yaks and angora goats.
May I ask what you paid for your Maremma ?
and what made you chose that particular breed ?
Don't suppose you could show us a photo of your dog in action....
Does he/she guard your cattle only ?
There is an advertisement in the local paper today--$400 for pups.
A friend of mine uses a Maremma mix to guard her yaks and angora goats.
One of the barns I go to sells them. Seems to me the brown ones sell best, followed by blk, solids, then white. I figure the same discrimination as in the cattle industry. Just a little observation.
Scotty
Scotty
jerry27150
Well-known member
don't be afraid to try anything you want to do. but be aware mexicans like goat meat & if you have the market they sell good , if not they don't. there is a lot of money in them . my son put a lot into them before he learned they are not that easy to raise & like sheep they just die for no reason. if you are near a good market & take good care of them i think you can make a living. be easier to go where there is no good market & buy some & take where there is a market
firestormboergoats
Member
As you can see by my name goats is the game for me. I don't have the land to run enough cattle to make any money, so goat it is. They are selling right now in the 1.20-1.40+ per pound range on the hoof and and all of the research I have done say's they are a great in a followup or comingled grazing system. They eat what the cow's won't and help clean up the pastures. They will eat grass, but not if that tasty weed is closer!
Anyway, copeman, Ratio's for buck:doe is 1:25-50. They can work more but why? Throw out a protien block and they can eat hay w/ the cattle. Goat per acre is just like w/ cattle, depends on where you are and what you want out of them. They breakdown to approx 7 goats = one animal unit. And we raise all three catagories-show, seedstock, and meat. They do need some shelter, they don't like to be wet and cold. One works, just not both.
The biggest market is actually the bookends (east/west coast). Everybody but the Americans subsists on goats. We import way more than we can produce right now so the market is on the up until the australians or nz's figure out how to make their feral goats taste as good as the boer, and boer crosses.
Sorry about the long post, but finally a question that I knew some answers too instead of just soaking up the knowledge to hopefully be used when I get my one or two head now and find some more land to raise both on later!!
shawn
http://www.7xcboergoats.com
Anyway, copeman, Ratio's for buck:doe is 1:25-50. They can work more but why? Throw out a protien block and they can eat hay w/ the cattle. Goat per acre is just like w/ cattle, depends on where you are and what you want out of them. They breakdown to approx 7 goats = one animal unit. And we raise all three catagories-show, seedstock, and meat. They do need some shelter, they don't like to be wet and cold. One works, just not both.
The biggest market is actually the bookends (east/west coast). Everybody but the Americans subsists on goats. We import way more than we can produce right now so the market is on the up until the australians or nz's figure out how to make their feral goats taste as good as the boer, and boer crosses.
Sorry about the long post, but finally a question that I knew some answers too instead of just soaking up the knowledge to hopefully be used when I get my one or two head now and find some more land to raise both on later!!
shawn
http://www.7xcboergoats.com
frenchie
Well-known member
They are a pretty expensive way to hold in sheep or goats.
I payed $250cdn without her shots,shots were $225cdn
Why did I chose her breed...I did,nt really....she was available locally and I knew how good the parents were.so bought her.
I will have to dig for some pics..Here is a photo as a pup.
nope....only kids and range maggots
Sounds like a reasonable deal.
I,m surprise that anyone would have to guard a yak...a guy up here put a yak bull in with a stud horse in a corral.I guess that stud picked on that yak bull...Guy came back to a dead horse.
Some guys up here use lLamas and donkeys as livestock guardians.
Another Goat question:
Is it true that goats must eat 60- 80 % of their diet in brumbles, woody bushes etc ? and that is why they love to just eat all the potential weed and bush hog stuff ?
The goat man neighbor told me this and I thought maybe his stats were a bit...exagerated. Set me straight.
Frenchie--
THANK YOU for that wonderful photo--hope you can find more.
The poly net IS expensive--new. but there are so many backyard farmers going out of business or changing species or crops, that a used roll of 150 feet is $30-$50 at the auctions/farmer markets etc.--a friend of mine got 20 rolls for $20 each when a sheep dairy went bottoms up.
I am seriously thinking about getting some... AND a few of them Boer does. Being just 100 miles from Boston and the cultural melting pot, brings high prices for "exotic" foods in this area.
Yeah, the yaks need some protection since they are in an area dominated by a large number of coyotes that are attracted to the angora goats.
Her dogs killed 4 coyotes 2 years ago that got INTO the pasture.
I wouldn't want to mess with a yak...and I dont think the coyotes want to either.
One other thing--she made jerky out of one of her bull yaks.... and it is the BEST jerky I have EVER had. I am not a jerky lover--but this stuff was great. So was the Yakburgers.
Is it true that goats must eat 60- 80 % of their diet in brumbles, woody bushes etc ? and that is why they love to just eat all the potential weed and bush hog stuff ?
The goat man neighbor told me this and I thought maybe his stats were a bit...exagerated. Set me straight.
Frenchie--
THANK YOU for that wonderful photo--hope you can find more.
The poly net IS expensive--new. but there are so many backyard farmers going out of business or changing species or crops, that a used roll of 150 feet is $30-$50 at the auctions/farmer markets etc.--a friend of mine got 20 rolls for $20 each when a sheep dairy went bottoms up.
I am seriously thinking about getting some... AND a few of them Boer does. Being just 100 miles from Boston and the cultural melting pot, brings high prices for "exotic" foods in this area.
Yeah, the yaks need some protection since they are in an area dominated by a large number of coyotes that are attracted to the angora goats.
Her dogs killed 4 coyotes 2 years ago that got INTO the pasture.
I wouldn't want to mess with a yak...and I dont think the coyotes want to either.
One other thing--she made jerky out of one of her bull yaks.... and it is the BEST jerky I have EVER had. I am not a jerky lover--but this stuff was great. So was the Yakburgers.
